kkula's blog

Social media websites like Facebook or Twitter are a great way to communicate with friends but they are also a great way for businesses to communicate with their consumers. Before Facebook, advertising agencies had to rely on television or magazine ads. They were easy to skip over and ignore. Advertisements tried to be personal by putting their products where they fit best. For example make up products and high end fashion brands are advertised in Seventeen magazine. These target girls but not all girls that read Seventeen magazine care about make up or brands of clothes.

Personal connections are hard to make because businesses do not know who is and who is not interested in their products. Facebook has solved that problem so it is no longer a challenge for businesses to point out who wants their products. Users can like different pages ranging from clothing stores to fast food restaurants to musicians. By users liking these pages they not only show their friends what they are in to but they show businesses what appeals to them and what they want. Businesses can then target these users and put advertisements on the side of their browser showing what that specific person wants to see.

I think social media has improved the way businesses reach consumers. For me personally I love the fact that I actually want to click on the advertisements on my Facebook page. By joining a Bowling Green State University page and liking a shoe company and iPhones, announcements for apartments in Bowling Green and sales going on for shoes and iPhones now appear on my page. It targets me and only me. It makes me feel special that a business knows what I am looking for. No more random ads that show products that does not appeal to me. Social media makes finding out consumer needs and wants more attainable. It also makes consumers not want to skip over every ad.